Resolutions. We make’em every year, and every year….well. The less said about that, the better!
Still, there are a few resolutions that I made for the year 2017 of the Common Era that I am bound and determined to keep. To keep me honest (and to remind me I made them!), I thought I would publish my 2017 resolutions here. I’ll keep track of how I go, and see where we end up on December 31st!
2017 Resolutions (Both reasonable and ill-considered)
- No chocolate for an entire year. Oh god guys, this is rough, no lie. I actually started this one on January 4th, so this one will last until 03.01.18. And because I’m a dumbass, I went cold turkey; no chocolate, no chocolate-flavoured things, nothing with chocolate in or on it, nothing with cocoa powder, nothing with carob, not even WHITE CHOCOLATE, which let’s be honest isn’t really chocolate anyway. I’ve made it so far; not a single solitary particle of chocolate ANYTHING has passed these lips since 03.01.17 AND I REGRET EVERY DECISION THAT LEAD ME TO MAKE THIS RESOLUTION. But I’m too stubborn and proud to quit. Ugh.
- Phase meat out of diet: completed 23.07.17! Now this one I accomplished in baby steps, but I have already done it! I cut red meat out of my diet in November of 2016, and before anyone asks: it was an ethical thing for me. Loki knows I loved a bacon sarnie as much as the next Aussie. I’ll go over my reasons for transitioning into vegetarianism in another post, but suffice it to say I phased red meat out first, and then chicken and seafood seven or so months later in July 2017. Do I miss it? Yes. But I’m proud of my choice and proud of myself for finally managing it, and no, I will not be eating red meat again.
- Pay $5000 off student loan: completed 19.06.17! This should be self-explanatory. I was an idiot as an undergrad, and totally ignored the student debt piling up around my ears. I’d like to think I’ve grown up a little now, and I want those numbers AS LOW AS POSSIBLE before I graduate and that loan starts accumulating interest! I don’t need that negativity in my life, so I’m going to work as fast as possible to get rid of it!
- Publish an article in a reputable journal: publish or perish, so they say in academia. I have actually gotten a chapter published in a book this year, but I’m not going to count it: I specifically said an ARTICLE. So, I’m going to work on that this year. Fingers crossed!
- Improve time management: You can’t be as busy as I constantly seem to be without some form of time management, but I KNOW mine could be better. I am pretty much winging life right now, and I both need and want to get better at this adult thing. It needs some work.
- Complete 50,000 words of thesis: This is REALLY reaching, no lie. And it might be reaching a little too far, I’ll freely admit. However, you gotta have a goal and even if I don’t quite make it I’m damn sure going to try. This just gives me a target. And I only have 2.5 years to go before hand-in!
- Lose weight, get fitter: As ever, but not necessarily in that order. Giving up chocolate and phasing out meat has helped a bit, and so has (significantly) increasing my water intake. I’ve also got a FitBit that I use for a step counter and all that jazz, to remind me that life is not meant to be spent in front of a screen 100% of the time. I work as an accounts clerk, and I study, so sometimes I forget that there is a world outside either of my offices…. Working on it!
How about you? Did you make any resolutions this year, and have you kept to them if so? Let me know, and why/why not, I’d love to hear!
Stay weird xxx
Millennial Academic 